


Healthy Communication: A Fantasy In Two Parts

by yamichip



Category: High Rollers DnD (Web Series)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, F/F, Gen, I get by with a little help from my friends, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:53:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28126425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yamichip/pseuds/yamichip
Summary: Thalia and Nova behave like reasonable adults (very unrealistic). Also, they flirt. Poorly (more realistic).
Relationships: Nova V'Ger & Thalia Whisperwind, Nova V'Ger/Thalia Whisperwind
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	1. How To Get Away With Flirting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aworldinside](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aworldinside/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy it!

**Captain’s Log: Stardate one… one… three… wait no the second day of…** _Shoot, what day is it on Aerois? Does time move differently here? Bym mentioned the lack of sun, which means_ —

_Okay never mind that for now. I can make adjustments later._

**Captain’s Log: Two days since —** _wait should I count individual sundowns on each planet? Or is it better to standardize and approximate…._

_Computer, restart!_

**Captain’s Lo—**

_Wait I’m not a captain!!_

**Engineer’s Log… Supplemental** _(…Nailed it.)_

I **t has been approximately 35 Aerois hours since our party was transported from Aerois to the then-unknown world of Elysium. Chief engineer Nova V’ger, herein referred to as ‘I’ or ‘me,’ having secured an audio recording device from one Bym (more on him later), has elected to keep a record of our circumstances, in case future dangers render any of us… in case our party is unable to report in person.**

**As of recording, our party consists of:**

**One – Captain Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto, owner and captain of the A-S-S** _teehee ass… ahem!_ **The Aerois Skyship Stormchaser.**

**Two – Quartmaster Qillek Ad Khollar.**

**Three – Chief of Security Aila… Aila.**

**Four – Chief of Crew Morale Sentry, and**

**Five – myself.**

**In the course of our approximate… thirty… seven… half… In the course of our time off world, we have, as Aila said, fricked stuff up.**

“I did not! I said—”

**Anyway! We were able to make contact with an underground rebellion known as The Wings of Ishtar, led by a being known as Zelion. We agreed to help plan an attack on Starbane’s flagship, and now we need to make our way back to Aerois so we can fulfill our part of the attack. And he fixed my hand! I’m in SPACE with TWO HANDS! AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!**

_…Sorry._

**Currently we are aboard the Twinstar Longbow, a… space?… star?… ship? Um… A ship owned and captained by one Thalia Whisperwind a very pret—AHEM a medusa. Her crew is comprised of:**

**One – Engineer Bym**

**Two – Gunner Kyri, and**

**Three – a big cat, Big Cat.**

**Our group has hired them to transport us back to Aerois, but for payment we’ve agreed to help Thalia win an almost-certainly-rigged gamble for three wishes against a demon king.**

**It is the official opinion of the chief engineer that our plan is doomed to fail an—**

“Nova, dear?”

—

The air genasi froze mid-pace. She turned slowly to find Thalia, who had just come into the mess hall.Nova briefly fumbled with the voice recorder for a moment, but only managed on a visual recorder by accident. Panicked, she shoved the recorder behind her back and struck a salute pose.

“Hi, Breasts! No! I mean Thalia! Uh wait no. Captain!”

“You don’t need to salute every time you see me.”

“Hoooow can I help you?” Nova stuttered out. Behind her back she continued to poke desperately at the audio recorder, but couldn’t seem to pause it.

“Could we talk for a moment? In private?” Thalia asked, deliberately seductive to the point of melodrama.

Thalia couldn’t decide which was better: Nova’s entire body turning purple in an instant, or the look of elated schadenfreude on Aila’s face.

Nova gave a loud squeak, which Thalia assumed was a yes, since the air genasi then walked out to the hallway with slow, stiff steps. When she reached the wall on the other side, she turned suddenly and stared at the medusa.

“You know Nova, usually I have to use my abilities before someone gets this stiff talking to me.”

If this had been one of Kyri’s graphic novels, this is when Nova’s nose would’ve started gushing blood. She tried to stammer out a witty reply, but it was closer to unintelligible error messages from a broken monitor. Thalia knew she had to take pity on the poor thing before Nova accidentally hurt herself.

“I’m sorry Nova, I was just winding you up,” the medusa touched Nova’s shoulder gently. “I thought you and I could have a bit of fun together.”

This had the opposite effect of helping Nova relax. “You? And m-me? I thought—”

“I’m not hurt if you’re not interested,” Thalia assured. “We’ll keep our relationship strictly professional.”

“No! I mean, yes! Wait not like—agh!” Through sheer force of will, Nova took three long, slow, deep breaths and finally managed to speak a full sentence. “I would love—err, really like it, if the two of us… had fun. But, it’s just, right now… we’re really busy? No that sounds rude, sorry. What I mean is, there’s just… a lot going on for me and my friends. We’re in WAY over our heads. And technically we hired you, so that wouldn’t be appropriate either.”

“You’re fine Nova, you don’t owe me any explanation,” Thalia said, genuinely unhurt. “I hope you’ll forgive me for being too forward. We never need to mention it again.”

Nova’s entire brain seemed to scream at her all at once.

“It’s not that I’m against it!” Nova pleaded. “I just don’t think now would be a good time for any of us to… have fun. But you do seem like you’d be… a lot of fun!”

“We won’t speak of it ever again,” Thalia said and turned towards her quarters.

“No! What I mean is, just because we can’t… have fun… doesn’t mean… it’s not a bad thing to… talk. I mean…”

Thalia turned back and watched as Nova cleared her throat and shifted to an incredibly-formal informal stance. When she spoke, her voice was deep with false bravado. “It’s not just your gaze that’s petrifying, if you know what I mean.”

She finished with a wink and two finger guns.

Thalia gave her a devilish smirk. “Why Nova, you big flirt.”

The air genasi instantly reverted to her normal, tense self. “Sorry was that too much?”

Thalia’s genuine laugh set Nova at ease.

“We’ll stick to just flirting then,” Thalia said with a wink. “And you know where to find me if you want to have some fun.”

And with that, Thalia left for her room, swaying her hips so deliberately that even Nova knew she was being teased.

—

**Engineer’s Log: Supplemental.**

**To summarize, our team has been flung more than halfway across the recently unknown galaxy and is now hurtling through astral space to try to get back to Aerois.**

**It is the official opinion of the chief engineer that our plan could use a few adjustments, but at least it’s a starting point… and we’re in _space_! **


	2. A Dream Within A Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thalia and Nova continue to act like adults. And flirt. Poorly.

Once, Thalia Whisperwind had been ambushed outside of a dive bar on a planet cursed into a fracturing mirror zone, by a trio of kobolds who she owed some long forgotten sum of money. She had been starting on her second bottle of rum when the barkeep gave her the charitable choice between stumbling out the door on her own two feet, or being knocked out cold and dragged to the nearest ditch. Right as she managed the heroic third step out of the doorway, the three kobolds seemed to pop into existence directly in front of her, an arcane pistol only a hair’s breadth away from her head. She hadn’t even twitched an eyelash.

But when the piercing shout of “HI THALIA!” from an excited air genasi cleaved directly into her sleeping brain, even her snakes had to stifle their tiny yelps as she jolted awake.

But it took her only a few seconds with her heart pounding to see that she was alone. And safe.

Thalia slipped her acid dagger back under her pillow and forced herself to take few slow, deep breaths. Now that she was properly awake, she knew that it had, of course, been Nova. The medusa wasn’t sure what Nova had done or why, but she already knew that she was not in danger… or at least, she wasn’t in danger Deliberately.

“Shh, it’s okay, we’re fine,” she whispered to her snakes, scratching their chins softly. They hissed a little to make it clear just how displeased they were, but settled down under her gentle pets. She stood and walked to the nearby mirror and gently guided the snakes into a relaxed bun.

It was after maybe three minutes of silence that another, less deafening voice called out in her mind.

“Uh, hi Thalia. Quill here. Nova says she’s very sorry she startled you and could you please go back to sleep? Thanks… OH! Clear skies!”

Thalia couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes before she replied.

“Thank you Qillek. Please tell Nova it’s quite alright and I shall try to sleep as soon as my heart stops fluttering… clear skies?” She smirked as she imagined Nova’s face turning purple with a deep blush.

It took a while for the medusa to fall asleep again, but eventually she forgot her bedroom on the Twinstar and found herself standing on what appeared to be the deck of a boat. Thalia didn’t have enough time to take in more before a blue blur left in front of her eyes.

Nova opened her mouth to cheer hello but caught herself at the last moment.

“Hi, Thalia,” the air genasi squeaked at a reasonable volume. “Sorry about the wake up. I haven’t used this spell much so I hadn’t realized how accurately sound is simulated. But I’ve made some adjustments to my calculations and it should be fine now! …Is it fine now?” her voice turned to a whisper. “Is it still too loud?”

“This is lovely, Nova dear. But to what do I owe the pleasure?” Thalia asked and turned back to the scene around her. “What is this quaint little haven you’ve whisked me away to?”

“Oh right! Welcome aboard the skyship Stormchaser!” The introduction was punctuated with Nova’s hand flourish.

Thalia took in her surroundings and decided her initial thought of quaint was dead on. The Stormchaser was bigger than the Twinstar Longbow, sure, but the design of the ship felt crude and blunt after years touring astral space. Yet as they talked and she toured Nova’s duplicate ship, Thalia found it was much closer to charming than quaint. That might have been because of Nova’s enthusiasm, more than anything to do with the ship itself. Even though the merry band of Aerois misfits had only left her a few days ago, Thalia realized that she already missed Nova’s passion.

Nova spent more time than she intended giving the grand tour of the Stormchaser. Thalia nodded politely, charmed by the air genasi’s hand-flapping and toe-bouncing stims. It was only when she started to lead Thalia into the lower decks that Nova remembered herself.

“Right! Sorry, this isn’t why I’m visiting your dream,” she said sheepishly.

Nova took a slow deep breath before explaining in the fastest voice Thalia had ever heard anyone use. [*See end of chapter for legible version.] “Sothere’sthisplacecalledthestormwallbecausethere’sagiantdeadlystormandtheaaracokrauseittotrainandthelightningtookQuill’sarmbutthestorm’sbeengettingworseandsowehadtogotrytofixitbecauseHespertoldQuillwaityoudon’tknowHesperHesperisagodwellIguesstitanhereonAeroisandhe’sthetitanofmagicandknowledgeandQuillisoneofhisclericsanywayHespergaveQuillamissiontoeitherhelporkillthetempestdragonsowehadtogoandalsohelpourfriendJohanwho’smysteriouslyconnectedtoQuillbutitwasreallyhardandtherewasalittlemagicgirlwhowasn’tactuallyalittlegirlandandthereweresomesphinxesandatimelitchpersonandalsoLucius’greatgreatmanygreatsgrandmotherthenwhenwewerevisitedbyZarkirayourememberZarkiraofcourseyoudoanywayshetalkedtousthroughahologramandsaidshecouldhelpustakecontrolofthetempestdragonbecauseit’ssopowerfulbutwewerelikeohhecknoweknowwecan’ttrustyouandthenshewaspissedandbasicallysaidshe’sgoingtomurdereveryonewe’veeverknownsonowwe’retryingtocontacteveryoneweknowsothattheydon’tgetmurderedandwe’regonnafindasafehousewwherepeoplecanhideandstaysafeohandalsoourfriendJohanturnedouttobethetempestdragonbutlikeprojectedoutofhisheadtocomefindhelpandQuillknewitthewholetimebutnotreallysoanywayI’mdreamcallingyousothatyouandKyricancomefindusandwecanfindasafeplaceforyouandallofourotherfriendsandfamily.”

She didn’t even take a breath when she finished.

Thalia stared at Nova, completely mystified. “Uh…right…could I get the short version of that please?”

Nova’s face fell. “That was the short version.”

“Of course it was,” Thalia couldn’t stop the smile on her face as she sighed.

She leaned against the railing of the airship, then started trying to sort through the few words she managed to catch. “So you had to…fight a wall…and Lucius’ great litch…to befriend a dragon…so that…you wouldn’t have to…murder Zarkira’s little magic girl?”

“I’m not sure I’d put it that way, but yes that was surprisingly close!” Nova beamed up at the taller woman.

“And I think I missed the part about why you’re in my head?” Thalia said, then held up her hand before Nova could speak. “A little slower if you don’t mind, dear Nova. My snakes aren’t as fast as they once were.”

The swarm of snakes on her head hissed disapprovingly. One of her particularly untamed locks nipped the top of her ear, just to make it clear how they all felt about the unwarranted blame from her excuse.

“Zarkira is going to murder everyone we know, and we know you, but we don’t want you and Kyri to get murdered, so we want you to come to us, so we can help you not get murdered!”

It was impressive, really, how Nova could seem so optimistic when talking about escaping certain death at the hand of a commander known throughout the galaxy for being ruthlessly good at her job. But then, Thalia had her fair share of run-ins with empire forces and had always somehow managed to slip away. This wasn’t her first space-rodeo.

“You are too sweet Nova,” Thalia answered. “But I’ve told you before. I’m a grown woman who can take care of herself. Kyri and I know how to keep ourselves safe.”

“Bu—”

“I’ve been avoiding Valkyrian soldiers since before your friends all found each other. I don’t need your protection.” Thalia’s tone came out harsher than she intended. She hadn’t meant to snap like that, but her mouth got ahead of her, like always.

Nova looked hurt, but more confused than anything else. “We know you can take care of yourself. It’s not about that.”

“Then what is it about?”

“We’re friends. Or at least, I think we’re friends,” Nova looked down at the ship’s deck, embarrassed, but continued. “And friends look out for each other. We want to help you and Kyri because you matter to us.”

“You don’t need to watch over us because you feel guilty,” Thalia answered, crossing her arms stubbornly. “Thank you for the warning, we will keep our heads down. But we don’t need babysitting.”

Thalia expected that Nova would back down with an apology, or possibly burst out in a fit of frustration. What she didn’t expect was for the air genasi to sigh and respond in a firm but kind voice.

“Thalia, I understand that you a strong person and you are able to take care of yourself. But,” she continued, “I am concerned that your ego may be clouding your judgement. You have avoided empire soldiers in the past, but you weren’t a specific target of Zarkira. Now you’re essentially stranded on a planet you know very little about. But, you have friends who have knowledge and resources who want to help you. How would it be safer for you to stay on your own and refuse help?

“Also, you don’t have the right to make that choice for Kyri too.”

Thalia was shocked more by the calm air of a leader Nova presented, far more than the actual argument. The surprise forced her to take a moment to collect her thoughts, letting reason pierce through her reflexive obstinance. And that moment was really all it took.

Thalia wasn’t stupid; she wouldn’t refuse any advantage she could exploit in a fight. She just sometimes forgot that other people could be trusted. But if anyone had proven that they would look out for her, they were the owners of this quaint, charming, beautifully pretentious airship.

Also, she really didn’t have the right to decide for Kyri.

“You’re absolutely right, Nova dear,” Thalia said. “I… thank you. I’ll ask Kyri as well, but I suspect you’re right, she’d want your help too.”

Nova gave a tiny, firm nod… and then collapsed face down onto the ship’s deck. “THAT WAS SO SCARY! I DON’T WANT TO BE RIGHT EVER AGAIN!”

Thalia knelt down beside her and patted the air genasi’s back gently. “You did a good job.”

“I’m okay, I’m okay…” Nova took Thalia’s hand and stood up again. “Everything’s going to be okay. You’ll come meet up with us and some of our other friends and everyone’s going to be okay… And now you’ll get to meet my mum!”

“…Sorry what now?”  
  
\----------

[*Here’s the version of Nova’s speech with actual punctuation.]

“So there’s this place called the storm wall because there’s a giant deadly storm. And the aaracokra use it to train, and the lightning took Quill’s arm. But the storm’s been getting worse, and so we had to go try to fix it because Hesper told Quill—wait you don’t know Hesper. Hesper is a god, well, I guess titan, here on Aerois, and he’s the titan of magic and knowledge, and Quill is one of his clerics. Anyway, Hesper gave Quill a mission to either help or kill the tempest dragon. So we had to go and also help our friend Johan, who’s mysteriously connected to Quill. But it was really hard, and there was a little magic girl who wasn’t actually a little girl. And there were some sphinxes and a time-litch-person and also Lucius’ great great many greats grandmother. Then when we were visited by Zarkira—do you remember Zarkira? Of course you do. Anyway she talked to us through a hologram and said she could help us take control of the tempest dragon because it’s so powerful. But we were like ‘oh heck no we know we can’t trust you!’ And then she was pissed and basically said she’s going to murder everyone we’ve ever known. So, now we’re trying to contact everyone we know so that they don’t get murdered. And we’re gonna find a safe house where people can hide and stay safe. Oh and also our friend Johan turned out to be the tempest dragon! But like projected out of his head to come find help! And Quill knew it the whole time but not really. So anyway I’m dream calling you so that you and Kyri can come find us, and we can find a safe place for you and all of our other friends and family.”


End file.
